Kerala History and Studies Journal is committed to maintaining ethical standards in scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to act honestly, responsibly and transparently throughout the submission, review and publication process.
1. General Principles
The journal expects all participants in the publication process to uphold standards of academic integrity and responsible scholarly conduct.
Manuscripts should be original, properly documented and based on research conducted and reported honestly.
2. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts present original scholarly work and accurately represent the research undertaken.
Authors should provide sufficient information about their sources, methods and evidence to allow the scholarly basis of the work to be understood.
3. Originality and Duplicate Submission
A manuscript submitted to the journal should not have been previously published in substantially the same form and should not be under consideration by another journal at the same time.
Authors should inform the editorial office if any part of the submitted work has previously appeared in another publication or has substantial overlap with another manuscript.
4. Plagiarism
Plagiarism, including the presentation of another person's words, ideas, arguments or work as one's own without appropriate acknowledgement, is unacceptable.
Authors should properly acknowledge quotations, paraphrased material, data and other sources used in their research.
Further information is provided in the journal's Plagiarism Policy .
5. Fabrication and Falsification
Authors must not fabricate research evidence or deliberately falsify, manipulate or misrepresent information presented in a manuscript.
Historical sources, archival records, interviews, quantitative information and other evidence should be represented accurately.
6. Authorship
Authorship should reflect genuine scholarly contribution to the research and preparation of the manuscript.
All listed authors should have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.
Individuals who have contributed to the research but do not meet the requirements for authorship should be acknowledged where appropriate.
7. Changes in Authorship
Any request to add, remove or change the order of authors after submission should be communicated to the editorial office with appropriate justification and the agreement of the affected authors.
8. Acknowledgements
Authors should acknowledge individuals, institutions, archives, libraries, funding bodies or other forms of assistance that contributed materially to the research but do not qualify for authorship.
9. Conflicts of Interest
Authors, reviewers and editors should disclose relevant conflicts of interest that could affect the impartial consideration or presentation of scholarly work.
A conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in the review process, but it should be disclosed where relevant.
10. Research Ethics
Authors whose research involves interviews, oral histories, personal information or other human participants should follow applicable ethical requirements and institutional procedures.
Where required, appropriate consent, permissions or ethical approvals should be obtained before submission.
11. Use of Sources
Authors should use primary and secondary sources responsibly. Archival documents, manuscripts, inscriptions, oral accounts, archaeological evidence and other historical materials should be cited accurately.
Authors should not knowingly misrepresent the provenance, authenticity or meaning of historical evidence.
12. Data and Research Materials
Authors should maintain appropriate records of research materials and evidence supporting the manuscript.
Where research materials are made available to readers or editors, authors should ensure that doing so does not breach legal, institutional, privacy or confidentiality requirements.
13. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers should provide an independent and scholarly assessment of manuscripts within their area of expertise.
Reviews should be fair, constructive and supported by appropriate reasoning. Personal criticism of authors is not appropriate.
14. Reviewer Confidentiality
Manuscripts received for review should be treated as confidential documents.
Reviewers should not share manuscripts or unpublished information from them with others without appropriate authorisation.
15. Reviewer Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers should inform the editorial office if they have a personal, professional, institutional or other relationship that could affect their impartial assessment of a manuscript.
Reviewers should decline an assignment where they cannot provide an independent assessment.
16. Responsible Use of Unpublished Material
Reviewers and editors should not use unpublished information, arguments or findings obtained through the review process for personal research or other purposes without appropriate permission.
17. Editorial Responsibilities
Editors are responsible for managing manuscripts fairly and consistently in accordance with the journal's academic and editorial requirements.
Editorial decisions should be based on the scholarly merits and relevance of the manuscript rather than on personal characteristics of authors.
18. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions should be made independently and should not be influenced improperly by personal relationships, institutional interests or external pressure.
19. Correction of Published Work
If a significant error is identified in a published article, the journal may consider appropriate corrective action.
Authors should promptly inform the editorial office if they become aware of a material error in their published work.
20. Retraction
Where serious concerns arise concerning the reliability, integrity or ethical basis of a published article, the journal may consider retraction or another appropriate post-publication action.
Such matters are considered according to the journal's Retraction Policy .
21. Complaints and Ethical Concerns
Ethical concerns concerning a submitted or published manuscript may be communicated to the editorial office with relevant supporting information.
The journal may request clarification or supporting documentation from authors, reviewers or other relevant parties when required.
22. Investigation of Allegations
Where an allegation of research or publication misconduct requires examination, the journal may seek information from the relevant authors or institutions and review the available evidence before determining appropriate action.
The nature of any action will depend on the circumstances and the information available to the journal.
23. Ethical Standards
The journal expects authors, reviewers and editors to contribute to a publication process based on honesty, academic responsibility, confidentiality and respect for scholarly work.
24. Related Policies
This policy should be read together with the journal's other publication policies, including: